Paul Newman has died of cancer at age 83, according to CNN.

The man contributed so many classic movies to American culture that it’s a tad unlikely people aren’t familiar with his work. From his beginnings in the late 1950s through the apex of his pop-culture stardom in the 1960s to the gradual move into “seasoned” character roles in the 1980s and beyond – and even impressing a new generation with 2006′s animated Cars, Newman was one of the very finest actors in American history. Even so, the man was nominated nine times for acting Oscars and came away for just one win, 1986′s The Color of Money. (Note: it’s green.)

Here are the top Paul Newman films you just gotta see, if you know what’s good for you, in ascending chronological order.

1. The Hustler (1961). Newman was still green and hungry in Hollywood, and it shows in this pool-hall movie about Fast Eddie Felson (Newman) and the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Newman in the sixties was virile, sly, cunning, and self-deprecating, and here his vulnerability combined with his outward machismo made for a sizzling drama. He was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Maximilliam Schell (Judgment at Nuremberg). Trivia fact: Newman and Gleason performed almost all of their pool shots themselves.

2. Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). Another Tennessee Williams adaptation (Newman was also in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Newman here plays Chance Wayne, a ne’er-do-well who returns to his Florida hometown with a faded actress (Patricia Neal) in tow, in an effort to show his old cronies that he made something of himself – even though he failed in Hollywood. The entire cast is great, but it’s the lean performance by Newman that sells the movie.

3. Hud (1963). A western this time; Newman’s the titular cowboy, who’s not only a ne’er-do-well but also a reckless youth. He rebels against his baronic father, played by Melvyn Douglas, and fools around with an older woman, played by Patricia Neal. Newman earned a nomination for this one, too.

4. Cool Hand Luke (1967). This prison movie is another Newman-against-The-Man movie, with The Man played by warden Strother Martin. This is the movie with the famous line, “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” In this movie, George Kennedy gets Newman to enter a boiled-egg-eating contest. Guess who wins. Newman earned his fourth nomination here.

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Now it’s not just Newman, it’s a Newman-Redford movie, as the stars play the famed outlaws. Here, we see that Newman’s not just good as the star of a movie, he’s good in a buddy picture, where he has to share time with an equal-stature actor. Not all actors can do that. This is the movie that gave us B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” albeit somewhat incongruously. Neither Newman nor Redford was nominated, though the picture was nominated seven times.

6. The Sting (1973). Newman and Redford reteam, this time as con artists in what turns out to be only the most awesomest con until Danny Ocean’s team came along in the Ocean’s Eleven remake. All to take down Robert Shaw! Redford was nominated; Newman wasn’t. Newman brings his usual wiseass charisma to the role.

7. The Towering Inferno (1974). Newman moved to disaster films here, as was vogue at the time. But he shared the screen with another legend, Steve McQueen. Neat trivia – according to their contracts, the two stars each received top billing, depending on how you looked at the credits, a tactic known as “diagonal billing.” I avoided watching this movie for a long time after the September 11, 2001 attacks, but ultimately it wasn’t as traumatic as I’d anticipated. It’s a great diaster movie.

8. Slap Shot (1977). Newman is the aging player-coach of a minor-league hockey team that’s about to be moved to somewhere in deepest, darkest Florida. The movie’s profane, lewd, and incredibly awesome. Newman is well suited to the role, which you might not expect from an old-school actor. Absolutely hilarious; a must-see for sports fans.

9. The Verdict (1982). Newman now segues into more-staid courtroom dramas; here, he’s a boozy attorney trying for some redemption in a medical-malpractice suit. If you like courtroom dramas in general, you’d love this one. Jack Warden is a standout as Newman’s advance man. Newman received his sixth acting nomination here.

10. The Color of Money (1986). Finally, Newman wins an Oscar, reprising his role as Fast Eddie Felson in this sequel to The Hustler. Here, Felson is mentoring an up-and-coming pool junkie, played by Tom Cruise as only Tom Cruise can play him – cocky, arrogant, knowing more than Paul Newman, etc. It’s an okay movie, but Newman is fantastic.

11. Nobody’s Fool (1994). Newman is another ne’er-do-well, but here he’s an aged one, and that’s generally the more-pathetic variety. He’s screwed everything up in his life and has a prickly personality to boot, but he loves getting under the skin of his grown-up son (Bruce Willis). Oh, and hitting on Melanie Griffith, who goes topless back when she had a reason to do so. Newman received his eighth nomination here.

12. Road to Perdition (2002). I wasn’t a fan of this Depression-era gangster film, in which Newman is an Irish mobster, but many others were. Also stars Tom Hanks, Jude Law, and even a young Daniel Craig. Newman received his ninth and final acting nomination.

13. Cars (2006). The intended audience of Cars probably never heard of Newman, and their parents knew of him as that old-time actor, but Newman was – pardon the pun – running on all cylinders as the crusty Doc Hudson, the patriarch car of the tiny town of Radiator Springs who teaches Owen Wilson a thing or two about selflessness.

How many of these have you seen? Are there any other Newman movies that warrant mention?